An occasional glimpse into the workings of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive (or comments on anything else that takes my fancy).

30 March 2016

It's tough being a saver

Sensible investors know better but those who trust their savings with traditional institutions in the traditional way will suffer. The Guardianreports:

Millions of savers were dealt a blow after National Savings & Investments cut the interest rates on many of its accounts. NS&I has also slashed the number of premium bond prizes, thereby reducing people’s chances of winning.

The rate on the investment account, held by more than 1.7 million people, will fall from 0.75% to 0.45%, while the 415,000 holders of the Direct Isa will see their rate drop from 1.25% to 1%. The direct saver rate will fall to 0.8% from its current 1.1%, while income bonds will now pay 1%, down from 1.25%.

Meanwhile, the premium bond prize fund rate - the proportion of the total amount invested paid out in prizes - is being cut from 1.35% to 1.25%. This reflects the fact that the total number of prizes will fall to an estimated 2m in June - the equivalent figure for this month is just over 2.3m.